"My father was a Shadowscale, born under the sign of the Shadow in the Black Marsh. He was an exemplar of their order, an amazing assassin." Tereethis paused, and then continued. "But the order was dying, quite swiftly and possibly due to the events in the Infernal City, but no one knew for sure."

Marshes nodded, he knew little about the events in the Infernal City. Only that a group traveled there seeking something. Marshes turned his attention to Tereethis as he continued.

"Once I was old enough to pick up a blade, I was thrown into training as a Shadow Scale, though I could never be such like my father. I was not born under the Shadow like him. The training was grueling, not something a five year old should be learning, how to kill swiftly and without noise, knowing how many poisons can effectively kill a man." He sighed, an exhausted one, as if he were going through the training all over again.

"Within about five to six years, I was already an enemy to be feared. It was also around that time that I executed my first kill. He was a Dunmer, actually. Sometimes I felt as if my father still held some old prejudice against them for our enslavement."

Unlike most Argonians, Marshes held no old hate for the Dark Elves or any race that treated them unfairly. What good would it do to hate all the people just because of what they were? It made no sense to him.

"It was simple, kill the man without anyone knowing, in anyway I wanted. I challenged myself, going to kill him in broad daylight. I waited patiently in the bushes outside of his home, bow in hand, laced with enough poison to take down a blood hazed Orc."

"Why did you have to kill him?"

Tereethis sighed. "Marshes, I do not kill without good reason." He took a sip of the water on the table. "He had killed children, molested them, raped. The monster deserved to die."

Marshes nodded, happy with the answer. He had never enjoyed the fact that his friend took lives like that, but he always had a reason for his actions. He wasn't cold hearted, just reserved and quiet. Maybe, that was another reason Marshes loved him. He felt his face warm up when the younger Argonian noticed his spacing out, but waved a hand at him to continue.

"I let myself blend in with the shadows, like I was taught to and once he was in my sights, I let my arrow fly into one of his lungs. The poison spread quickly and he died in minutes."

"What about your mother?" Marshes inquired.

Tereethis' jaw set and his linked hands gripped each other hard.

"She died when I was a hatchling. I know little of her. From what my father told me, she was kind and thought of everyone before herself. Ultimately selfless."

Marshes placed his hand over Tereethis', hoping he was comforting. It seemed to be as Tereethis' jaw lacked a bit and his shoulders relaxed.

"How did she die?"

"She wasn't deceased but murdered by a group of assassins who wanted to get to my father." He let out a small breath. "That is also what led him to leave when I was old enough. He wanted revenge."

Marshes tried to read his friend's expression, but he was making it difficult, keeping that neutral look on when Marshes got too close.

He took his hand away. "Do you?"

Tereethis shook his head. "I don't know." His head was down, eyes devoid of any emotion, as he was told to by his father.

"Okay," Marshes said, getting up and moving to clean the dishes. "That should be enough, I'm satisfied." The sudden movement surprised the Argonian, looking up with a frown. "Did I say something wrong?"

No, that's not it. You just looked like you were about to break. Not voicing his thoughts, Marshes smiled at Tereethis, quickly going back to busying himself. "No, of course not. As I said, I'm satisfied; you don't have to speak of it anymore."

As Marshes was cleaning the bowls and pot, he felt the assassin's trained eyes on him, watching every move his shoulders made, every crack of his voice. He heard a slow breath being drawn behind him and a move of the table. "I have to go to the market. I'll be back soon." Marshes nodded as he heard the door close.

The breath he let out was fast and laced with a quiet suppression of anger and annoyance. He was angry at himself and at whoever killed his friend's mother. The second Tereethis mentioned his mother; Marshes noticed the change in his voice, the softness in his eyes. Even though he was a trained assassin, even he had a breaking point.

Marshes ran a hand through his dark blue hair, sighing as he went up to his room to set it up. And maybe it would let his mind deter from his friend, even for a bit.


Hi everyone, it's be forever since I uploaded and I'm sorry to people who've been waiting for me to update! I've been procrastinating like crazy lol. Anyway, enjoy a new chapter!